


Interlude

by Rocky_T



Series: Kindred Spirits [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-08-06
Packaged: 2017-12-22 15:10:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/914701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocky_T/pseuds/Rocky_T
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pre-Nemesis vignette, 2004</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interlude

**Author's Note:**

> For Seema

"You're very quiet tonight, Jean-Luc."

He looked over at his companion, admiring the deep blue velvet gown that matched her eyes and set off her dark red hair perfectly. He smiled. "Are you accusing me of neglecting you, my dear?"

She gave a throaty laugh. "Never." She held out her empty wineglass and observed him carefully as he refilled it. "You do seem a million light years away, though. Busy day?"

"You could say that," Picard said, leaning back in his chair. He glanced sharply at the window, assuring himself that it was securely fastened. The wind and the rain raged outside, a stark contrast to the warmth and comfort within. "Though nothing compared to a day on patrol in the Neutral Zone, for example."

"Very true," she acknowledged. "Having one's ship in spacedock--any planetside assignment for that matter--is just a different type of keeping busy. And expectations to the contrary, the workload isn't any lighter." She paused. "How is the refit going?"

"Everything is proceeding according to schedule. It's just a minor upgrade, after all--most of the work this time around involves the science labs." He studied his own glass of claret for a moment, noting how the firelight reflecting off the polished wood furniture deepened the wine's color to blood-red. "But you undoubtedly know more of the details concerning that than I do."

"Undoubtedly." A faint smile crossed her face briefly. "You'll be leaving Earth in another few weeks, then. Shortly after the wedding, unless I miss my guess."

"Yes, as it works out, we'll actually be taking Will and Deanna to Betazed afterward for their traditional ceremony--" he stopped.

She straightened in her seat and gave him a penetrating glance. "What's bothering you?"

Picard hesitated, about to deny anything was wrong, then shook his head. She knew him too well for any subterfuge. "I met with Will this afternoon," he said finally. "Specifically, about the opening for the Titan's captaincy."

"And?"

"I told him it was a major opportunity for him, one not to be missed." Picard sighed. "So help me, I told him he'd been spinning his wheels for years now, and it was time he moved on."

"He had a number of chances earlier," she said quietly. "The Aries, the Melbourne...yet each time he's been offered a command of his own, he's turned it down."

"Exactly."

"In fact, I'm rather surprised the Admiralty approached him once more." An errant lock of hair tumbled forward, hiding her expression. "They don't take kindly to being refused, you know."

They sipped their wine in the ensuing silence. Outside, the rain had turned to sleet and was striking the glass with increasing ferocity.

"Was he at all receptive to the idea?" she asked finally. Picard didn't answer. Giving him a concerned look, she said, "Did he at least hear you out?"

"Oh, he let me finish," Picard said ruefully. "He waited until I was done speaking my piece, then gave me one of those shit-eating grins of his and calmly announced he had already accepted the position."

"Well, that's good news, if a bit surprising." The corners of her mouth quirked up. "There are those who swore he'd never leave the Enterprise. Rumor has it he's been waiting all this time for you to retire."

Picard snorted. "Hardly." He set his glass down on the gleaming mahogany side table and rose to his feet. "When he first came on board, I was convinced he wouldn't be with me very long--his ambitions for a ship of his own were so transparent. And yet--" He sighed again. "Fourteen years in the XO position. It's hard to believe this is the same man who once swore he was going to break Kirk's record for youngest captain in the Fleet."

"Over time, I suppose his career began to mean less to him than other things," she said, reflectively. "Such as the opportunities for learning and personal growth that he had with you." Giving him a significant look, she added, "Things he wouldn't have had elsewhere."

Picard moved closer to the fire, felt its welcome warmth on his face. "I won't argue--I'm the last person to advocate accepting a promotion just for the sake of career advancement, not when you already have something you love, a job you're good at." He broke off suddenly, remembering who he was speaking to. "I'm sorry."

Aside from a barely perceptible stiffening of her posture, she didn't react to his last statement. "Go on."

"There isn't any more to say," Picard said, studying the flames once more. "Perhaps Starfleet Command at last made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Deanna will be going with him, of course, as ship's counselor."

"I expected she would. It sounds like an ideal situation, on all counts."

"It was time, past time, for him to go. To be his own man."

She came and stood at his side. "Then why do I get the sense you're not very happy?"

Picard turned away, suddenly unable to meet her eyes. "I am happy for him," he said softly. "It's hard for a person who hasn't been in this position to realize what it's like, years of having someone by your side, whom you trust implicitly--more than you trust yourself, at times--and have grown to depend on...You realize, though, that you're being selfish, worry you're taking advantage of his loyalty and devotion, wonder what will happen to your relationship when the regrets inevitably set in. So you try to encourage him to move on, for his own good. And you mean it, you really do." Picard sat down heavily, his shoulders slumped forward. "But there's still a sense of loss when he actually takes you at your word." 

"I know." She slipped her arms around his neck, her lips brushing the top of his ear. "Believe me, Jean-Luc," Admiral Kathryn Janeway murmured, "I know exactly what you mean."


End file.
